Haunted Savannah: A Glimpse

I love my city. Savannah Georgia is by far one of the most unique places in the United States. From the Historical Downtown area, to the Beaches of Tybee Island, you have an overwhelming feeling that this place is totally unique, but also..just a bit eerie...

It's no mystery to the Paranormal Investigation Community, that Savannah is a hotspot for activity.

Alot of that can be attributed to the fact that this is a very old city. It was established in 1733, by James Oglethorpe. Downtown, the first "planned" city, is built on 22 different park-like squares. Some say that the squares are there to quell magical energy, being the opposite of the usual circle used in ancient magic.

We will start with one of these squares on our tour of "the most haunted city":

Wright Square

Wright Square is one of the many squares that grace downtown. There is a monument in the middle, that was errected for a former city Mayor. In all of the squares in Savannah, you will find spanish moss draped on the branches of our century-old trees. The spanish moss is also found in the marshes, and outer islands.
However, Wright square bears no moss. It is the only square that doesnt.

Wright Square is supposedly haunted by the ghost of Alice Riley. Alice Riley was an indentured servant who arrived in America in December 1733. She was sent to work for William Wise, along with her husband, Richard White. Mr. Wise was a horrible man to work for, and each day he ordered the two servants to bathe and groom him. In March 1734 Richard and Alice had all they could take. While grooming Mr. Wise that day, they held his head in a bucket of water until he drowned. They fled the house, but were eventually caught while hiding on the Isle of Hope.

They were both sentenced to death, however when they discovered Alice was pregnant, they waited until she gave birth to hang her. They hung her in Wright Square and left her body there for three days. This was January 19th 1735.

Locals say that on this night, and for three days after, you can hear Alice weeping when the wind blows through the trees. It is said that Spanish Moss will not grow in places where innocent blood is spilled......
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Fort Pulaski

Lets make our way east, to beautiful Tybee Island. I spend alot of time out there, both for work and play. There is one road to reach the island, and one road off. On your way to the island, you will see in the distance, Fort Pulaski. Sitting atop Cockspur Island is Fort Pulaski, used in the mid 1800's for housing soldiers and supplies. The for was built to last, and remains in almost pristine condition, even after tropical weather and years of tourists wandering around. Theres even a moat, and drawbridges!

During the Civil war, The fort became a death sentence for many POWs. They were put on a starvation diet, and left to the elements during October- January weather. Now it doesnt get unbearably cold often here, but even at just below freezing without any heat, survival is tough. It is said that these POWs ate rats, cats, and whatever else they could to survive. Unfortunately, many did not.

The film "Glory" was shot on location at the fort. legend has it, that many of the extras/actors saw a commanding officer, that reprimanded them for not saluting. However, the commanding officer was not a part of the movie crew, and was not seen again.

Others report a feeling of general malaise, or sickness.

Some see guards from afar, manning their stations at cannons....

Scientific analysis of the sand on the coast of Savannah has been shown to carry more electro-magnetic properties, and radiation. This was discovered when the Tybee Bomb - a nuclear weapon lost of the coast of Tybee in the 50's- was being investigated.
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The Pirate House

Built in 1753, this is the oldest building in downtown Savannah. It is currently a cafe (and rather pricey if you ask me ) and has been updated to modern standards in some rooms. it has had a lot of different ad-ons over the years, to accomodate more patrons. However, the original part, the tavern, remains almost completely historically in tact.
There is a tunnel in the basement, that runs all the way to the river front, and it is massive. You could easily drive your car through the passage. Some say, the passage was used in smuggling operations by pirates, and later used by English and French privateers. To say it has a violent history, is to say the least. Robert Louis Stevenson has said that "Treasure Island" was inspired by the house, and its history.

Employees have heard voices coming from the second floor. Also they have reported coffee pots throwing themselves against the walls, and seating/tables re-arranging themselves overnight.

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The Forsyth Park Tunnels

Along with the beautiful squares in Savannah, you will find gorgeous Forsyth park, in the middle of the downtown area. It's gone through alot of changes over the years, but historians speculate, that the park was once used for darker things than jogging and frisbee.

Situated on the corner of Drayton Street, and Park Ave is the Mary Telfair hospital. Itself, is said to be haunted by Mary Telfair, herself. It is now an assisted living community.

There is a legend, that there is a tunnel running from the park, to the hospital's basement. There you will find a room, that has since been caved in, that was used as a morgue during the yellow fever outbreak. They used the tunnel at night, to smuggle the bodies, as to not cause any alarm to citizens that such a vast amount of people have died.

Unfortunately, most of the original tunnels throughout savannah have been sealed, much like the Pirate's House.
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So thats my creepy city. I just wanted to share some of the more interesting stories, with the ATS paranormal forum.

Nice post. I always love hearing about the more historical haunting's. Have you ever caught anything yourself as you seem to travel to these places?

Well done!

I love visiting there and still do when possible. My spousal unit and I recently visited and had some great meals; The Lady and Sons (Paula Dean's) Pastichhio (sp?) and Leonardo's (?) Ice Cream. Sadly we learned that despite public outcry and opposition, they are going to allow a McDonald's in the historic section.

Next time we go, I'll be sure to check out your sites or at the very least we'll take the touristy Ghost Tour in the hearse. (We also enjoy; Amelia Island, St. Augustine and Charleston.)

Thanks for sharing, nicely written.

Originally posted by onehuman
Nice post.

I always love hearing about the more historical haunting's. Have you ever caught anything yourself as you seem to travel to these places?

Not really. Not beyond just a creepy feeling in some of the places Ive lived downtown.

Well that, and I had a window crack right in front of me for no apparent reason once.....

Originally posted by kinda kurious
Well done!

I love visiting there and still do when possible. My spousal unit and I recently visited and had some great meals; The Lady and Sons (Paula Dean's) Pastichhio (sp?) and Leonardo's (?) Ice Cream. Sadly we learned that despite public outcry and opposition, they are going to allow a McDonald's in the historic section.

Next time we go, I'll be sure to check out your sites or at the very least we'll take the touristy Ghost Tour in the hearse. (We also enjoy; Amelia Island, St. Augustine and Charleston.)

Thanks for sharing, nicely written.

Il Pastichio is now called "Broughton and Bull" and has started selling american southern cuisine. I havent been yet, but I keep walking by and going " I need to eat there".

Jesus, are we all tired of Paula, lol. It's funny though, there is always a half mile line to get into her place. I think it tastes okay...nothing to rave about. But Ive been in the deep south most of my life, and grandma knew how to cook!

The Mickey D's thing is still up for debate as I understand. The draw of downtown is the historic sites, and the locally owned businesses. You will only find one or two franchises in the downtown area, one being fudruckers. You dont come here to eat Mickey d's. I think it spoils the downtown. It is protested highly among all of us locals.

Definitely hit the hearse tour!! There are some great sites that they cover, one being my old apartment on oglethorpe!! They also hit Moon river brewery, which was featured on an episode of Ghost Adventures.

I thought I would add this as well. When I was 17 I actually worked at this hotel in the convention department. I was actually being groomed to take it over eventually. I was even working there when they filmed caddy shack. lol I got a $100.00 tip from Rodney Dangerfield, but that is another story....

The thing I want to point out that I can confirm myself is I clearly remember two times when I was called by guest asking who left them the flowers. Flowers being sent to rooms would have gone through my department at that time. Of course there were many occasions when one wished to remain anonymous, but on these two occasions, we had no clue how they got there.

Now note this snip from the website I will link below:

The Entity Apports — She has been given the credit when guests find freshly cut flowers that mysteriously are brought to their rooms Her unseen presence is noticed via the scent of roses and a cool, comforting breeze which suddenly fills the hallways, lobby and museum area of Addison's artifacts. Her milky apparition has been seen walking down the hallways.

I cant say as I ever saw her apparition but I did frequently smell the aroma of fresh cut flowers.

I can't personally attest to the others "ghost" mentioned in the link below except for the hearsay I heard from other employees.

It truly is a awesome place to visit if one ever gets the chance... Wallet willing of course!

Boca Raton Resort and Club

reply to post by InertiaZero


Very cool, I've never been to Savannah and it was interesting to hear about some of the spots that stand out to you as a native. It makes the places you mentioned very intriguing after you read the stories behind them. Hopefully I can make it out that way someday. Thanks for sharing!

reply to post by InertiaZero


Very nice. I've never been to Savannah, but this makes me want to go.
I think it would be a really nice ghost-hunting trip, and maybe a little scary.

Sorry, no ghost stories but when we last visited, they had just wrapped filming "The Conspirator" directed by Robert Redford. It depicts those who helped Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth. I learned they transformed one of the parks / squares to depict that era and brought in truckloads of dirt to cover the streets.

I think the film was recently screened at the Savannah Film festival although it won't be released to public until next spring.

On our last visit I FINALLY got a "Bird Girl" statue for my backyard. (From Midnight in Garden of Good and Evil.)

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/d30c2ad97908.jpg[/atsimg]

Yeah I'm a total tourist but as a native Floridian, I've put up with tourists my entire life. When in Rome.......

Anyway, I love your city OP.

Hi! Love the Crab shack on Tybee Island, and the turtle candy made downtown. The Bee's hand lotion
fom the Savannah Bees is fabulous! The beaches don't allow dogs, so it's not my favorite vacation spot...
I have two dogs and like taking them to the beach. South Carolina beaches allows the dogs.

Do you think maybe they pull the moss out of the trees at night? Or spray the tree with something to kill the moss? For tourist attraction/ dollars? I have to admitt the graveyard there is very creepy. My child did not want to walk around in it..... It is a gorgeous city!